Windows started going up and down randomly and doors locking/unlocking randomly. As I was reaching through my window to gram my keys from the ignition my arm got pinched, and lodged in the window that was going up, (I was trying to get my keys before getting locked out of the car (again) due to the random locking and unlocking). Auto reversal of the windows when an appendage gets lodged in the window did not occur. This pinched and lodged my left arm in the window to a point of bruising an area of 4 inches by 2 inches. After exhaustively researching this issue (which is a common issue with the door lock modules on the 98-02 vw beetles with the old style "loud" power locks) I concluded that the door lock module and the door closed microswitch were with culprits of this incident. I am very grateful that this only occurred to a 32 year old man and not one of my 4 small children (7mo-7 years). Vwoa should do their research and see that hundreds if not thousands of vw owners have had to replace dlms on multiple doors at a cost of at least $200+ each door (more at the dealership). This should be a recall for the safety factor alone, let alone the inconvenience factor of having to replace a dlm because of a $3 microswitch at the door closed sensor, or 1 of 6 bad solder joints on the circuit board inside the door lock module. Information on the exact problem can be found on multiple vw repair sites (tdiclub.com; vwvortex.com; newbeetle.org; etc, etc, etc) I do understand that my car is 14 years old, however I have had to spend over $1000 fixing vw factory mistakes on this car already. I love vw, being a former owner of several air cooled vws in the past, however this will severely affect my decision to ever buy another water cooled vw.
1998 Volkswagen Beetle: doors won't lock, open or latch
6 of the 170 complaints about the 1998 Volkswagen Beetle describe doors won't lock, open or latch.
- owner complaints
- 6
- of this car's complaints
- 4%
- recalls
- 0
Doors won't lock, open or latch by model year
What owners say
1998 vw new beetle: both door locks failed. At first only driver door with fob. Progressed to not being able to lock either door with fob or key. Vw dealer in alexandria, va said problem could have deteriorated further to the alarm system and be unable to start the car. Repair cost $850.
Since I purchased my beetle in 2001, it has been an ongoing money drain. In 6 yrs. I have replaced the manual transmission twice, had the brakes worked on a number of times, been unable to open the gas "door" on the car w/ the gas cap latch, had to replace the hood opening latch, had repeated electrical failures, problems w/ front & rear light wiring, had door locks/alarm fail & subsequently had my laptop stolen from the car, the radio has not worked for 1+ year, & it's cover panel is loose & falling back into the dash, the rear-view mirror switches have failed, the power window switches have had to be replaced, the drivers side door fell off (!) of its top hinge when the hinge broke while opening the door normally at a gas station, the air compressor has failed many times, the A/C is currently not working, the drivers side door lock fell out of the handle(!!!!), the catalytic converter has been replaced twice, & the list goes on. Currently I have not been driving the car for several wks b/c though only a week or two out of the shop, again it is having transmission problems. I am at my wits end with this car & having recently graduated from college, am not in the greatest position to have to buy a new car. Moreover, I am so displeased w/ the car that I would literally feel guilty about trading it in to be sold to some other unsuspecting person. Vw should be so ashamed of themselves, & should be reimbursing owners of the 1998 beetle in full for all of the strife & trouble that they have caused. In fact, after writing this & realizing how many problems this car has had, I may try to take legal action - this is totally unacceptable! Finally, our local vw dealer is terrible, keeping my car for wks. Longer than expected, one time leaving a candy bar stuck to my passenger side seat!!!, and acting like they could care less about the poor quality of their products & labor.
Door handle has come off passenger's side door. Dealer contacted.
Battery blew up, causing windows to lock/ door locks not to work. Volkswagen was contacted.
Passenger door lock failed.
Related recalls
No recalls on record for this model year.
Questions about the 1998 Volkswagen Beetle door locks
Is doors won't lock, open or latch a common problem on the 1998 Volkswagen Beetle?
6 of 170 owner complaints about the 1998 Volkswagen Beetle (4%) mention doors won't lock, open or latch. The model year with the most reports is 1998.
Is there a recall or service bulletin for this on the 1998 Volkswagen Beetle?
There is no recall or service bulletin for this area of the car on record.
Other symptoms on the 1998 Volkswagen Beetle
Headlights 25Stalling 12Check engine light 8Fire or smoke 8Overheating 8No deployment 7Engine failure 6Jerking 6Power windows 5
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